Stephen seymour alifwill



S. S. ALLWILL.

SWITCH DISK.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 2|. 1919.

Patented Dec. 23, 1919.

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SWITCH-DISK.

Specification of Letters Patent. Pategmtgd H m,

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Original application. filed August 3, 1917, Serial No. 184,262. Divided and this application filed February 21,

5! '0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, STEPHEN SEYMOUR ALLWILL, a citizen of the Dominion of New Zealand, residing at Hautapu, in the Provincial District of Auckland, Dominion of New Zealand, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Switch-Disks, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to apparatus for preventing collisions 0n railways, and is especially intended for use with the devices set forth in my application filed August 3rd, 1917, Serial Number 184,262, of which this application is a division. The said invention consists in an electrical switch disk, constructed as hereinafter described and adapted to turn on its axis with partial rotary motion for use with the mechanical switch track rails and electrically conducting third rails of a railway at the junction of a side track and main track, to prevent the collision of trains coming along these tracks respectively.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figures 1, 2 and 3 represent diagrammatic views of such a disk, conductors and proximate rails, Fig. 1 showing the position of the disk with the main line clear and side line closed; 2, with the main line closed and side line open; and Fig. 3, with both lines closed as may happen by error. The three positions of the disk corresponding to these figures are attained by turning the disk 77 by the corresponding movement of the mechanical track switch.

It is not necessary to illustrate the latter switch, as the usual forms of switch and switch lever may be used and the disk 77 may be connected thereto in any convenient wa S aid disk is of non-conducting material, having at its periphery at suitable intervals relatively long metallic contact pieces 0, D and G, and small contacts 7 8, 79, 82 and 83. Contacts 82 and 83 are on opposite sides of contact piece C and in proximity thereto, but separated therefrom by slight spaces of non-conducting disk material. A small wire 84 extending across the face of the disk connects them to each other. Contact 78 is similarly separated from one end of contact piece D by a small space of the disk and contact 79 is likewise arranged with respect to the other end of contact piece G. A wire 80 extends from contact 78 to coin Serial No. 278,371.

tact 79 across the face of the disk, making electrical connection between. them. The main line rails are designated by 7 (3, the side line rails by 76", having a third rail A connected thereto. The corresponding third rail A of the main line consists of two sec tions, one section 39 being on the same side of the center ofthe disk as third rail A and the other section 39 being on the opposite side of the disk. A conducting wire l3 extends from side track 76" to cont-act piece C and always in contact with the latter in the three illustrated positions of the disk. Another conducting wire B extends from the side line third rail to the periphery of the disk, making connection with contact piece C in the position shown in Figs. 1 and 3. A wire F from main line 76 is in connection with contact G, Fig. 1. and contact C, in Fig. 2, and contact G, in Fig. 3. A similar wire E from main line 7 6 is in connection with. contact D in all the figures. The third rail section 39" of the main line makes connection with contact 79 in Fig. 1, contact 82 in Fig. 2 and contact pit'ce G in Fig. 3. Third rail A of the side line, connects through wire B with contact C in Figs. 1 and 3 and with the smaller contact 83 in Fig. 2, main rail 39being connected to small contact 7 8. Section 39 of the third rail of the main track is in connection with contact 7 8 in Fig. 1 and contact piece l) of Figs. 2 and 3. Thethird rails are, as usual, for purposes of electrical conduction only. The contact pieces C, l), G are made to extend over greater parts of the periphery of the disk than do the smaller contacts 78, 79, 82 and 83, because they have in most positions to provide for electrical connection with a greater number of conductors. Thus C and D always have to provide for two connections and D sometimes provides for three.

Fig. 1 shows continuous connection between the sections 39 and39 of the third rail of the main track, through contacts 7 8" and 7 9 and their connecting wire 80; but the third rail A of the side track is connecttill ed to one of the side-track rails 76" by the main line third rail is connected by con" i tact piece D and wire E with one of the main track rails 76 but has no connection with section 89, so the main track is closed.

In Fig. 3 the main line is closed, by the connection of one of the rails 76 through wire F and contact piece G to section 39 of the main line third rail. Also,"t'he side rail A is closed, the side track third rail A being in connection through wire B, contact C and wire B with oneof the side rail tracks 76 This may come about by error in moving themechanical switch, thereby turning the disk into ineffective position. Or such position may be intentionally given if both the main line and side line should be temporarily out of use.

I am'aware that the details of this invention may be considerably modified in form and arrangement without departing from the spirit and'scope thereof, and all such modifications and variations I design to cover by my claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In combination with the main track rails and side-trackrails of a railway and the electrically conducting third rails of the said tracks,'a disk for electric switching arranged between two sections of the main track third-rail and in peripheral contact with said sections and the third-rail of the side track, conductors from the main rails of said tracks to the periphery of said disk, and connectors from said third-rails to the periphery of said disk, the said disk being adapted to turn on its axis with the movement ofa mechanicalswitch and provided in its periphery with a series of contacts arranged at intervals, 'four of said contacts being connected electrically into pairs, the turning of said disk into one position bringing its contacts into position with respect to said conductors and third rails as will open llllG'HlLlIl-llllGk third rail to the electric current, and close the side-track third-rail thereto, whereas its turning into another position will have the reverse elfect and the turning into a third position will close both tracks.

2. A disk provided with a circularly arranged series of electric contacts and adapted to be turned on its axis by a mechanical railway switch at the junction of two tracks, in combination with the latter, longitudinal electrically conducting means belonging to said tracks respectively, and conductors cooperating with said means, the said track rails and said contacts, the arrangement of said parts permitting the turnin of said disk to open either one of said tracks to the electrical current, closing the other according to the position chosen.

3. A non-conducting electrical switch adapted to be turned on its axis into any one of three positions and provided with peripheral electrical contact pieces C D G and two pairs of smaller contacts, the members of each pair being electrically connected together, in combination with the main rails of two railway tracks meeting at this disk and the electrically conducting third rails of these tracks, one of said third rails being in two sections on opposite sides of said disk, conductors from one section of this latter third rail to the other across the disk when the latter is in one position, conductors from the former section to the third rail of the other track across the disk when the latter is in another position, and conductors connecting the main track rails of said track respectively to their third-rails according to the position of the disk and its contacts in order that one track may be closed when the other is open.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

STEPHEN SE YMOUR ALLWILL.

lVitnesses ETHEL FRANcEs COURTNEY, HERBERT THOMAS REYNELL. 

